Improvement in life-preservers



WB. W'. TAYLOR.

Improvement in Lfe-Preservers. !!5.,38`6. Patented May 30,1871.

mnummgm 4 |M|5RovENiENT IN BENJAMIN w; TAYLOR, or HENDERSON, vKENTG'KY.

LIFE-PRESERVERS.n Y

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 115,386, dated May 30, 18h.

.To all lwhom it mag/concern:

Be itknown that I, BENJAMIN W. TAYLOR,

y c "of Henderson, in the county of Henderson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain Im- .l provements in Life-Preserver, of whichy the following is a speciticatiomreference being had to the accompanying drawing. A r

My invention relates to life-preservers to be-4 `carried on vessels; and consists in a boat or raft of peculiar construction, adapted to be c `stowed and carried in a berth under the mattress.

Figurel is a top-plan view of my apparatus with the air-vessels folded in uready for stowd age; Fig.2 is a central longitudinal section of y d the same; and Fig. v3 isa cross section through the middle of the same.

My apparatus consists mainly of a flat rectanc gular boat, A, made very light, and of such y size as to lit within aberth under the bedding.

This boatmay be made of wood, metal, or

other material, having its ends dat and inclined, as shown, or 'with its bottom rounded and tapered toward the ends- In any case however, the upper side should be flat and rectangular, so as to` support all portions of the mattress.

In each end of the boatI place a rectangular ai.r-.can, B, and hinge the same to the bottom in such manner that they may be either turned down flatthereon, as shown d in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or turned up on edge, as l Q shown in dotted` lines in Figs. 2 and 3,*so as y, l to project above the top of the boat. To each y side of the boat Il hinge a long square, airtube or can, C, which maybe turned down within the boat or top of the cans B, when the latter arefolded down, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, .y l and 3, or turned up so as to lie along on top l of the side or edge of the boat, as shown in dotted line in Figs. Zand 3. The tubes C I arrange so that when turnedupy their. inner l sides are flush, with the inner sides of the boat 5 and the cans BI makeof the fullwidth of the interior of theboat, so that when turned up they bear against the inner sidesof tubes i and hold the latter out inposition, as shown in,` Fig. 3 by dottedlines. `The cans B and the `1 c tubes C are so made and arranged that when turned up they t closelyV against each other and to the upper edges of the boat, and thus i form araised rim around the boat, equivalent to increasing its depth the thickness oi the tubes. t The air-vessels thus arranged around the top of the boat serve to prevent it from being overturned by waves, and also to sustain'it when filled with Water. To each side of the boat I secure an oar,D, in such manner that it may be readily detached when required i for use. d

Instead of being attached to the outside, the oars-and, if desired, a mast and sail also may be stowed inside of the boat.

When the vessels are folded down insidel of the boat the latter is very thin and flat, and may be readily placed in a berth under the mattress, and when required for use it can be withdrawn, the cans and tubes turned out, and the oars detached so as to be ready for use in an instant.

Oar-locks may be attached to the boat in c any suitable manner, as, for instance, to the under side of the air-tubes O, so that when they are turned up the oar-locks will bebrou ght into position. k

Instead of using the air-vessels cases of the same form and arrangement' filled with cork may be used, although this is not considered desirable. t

A boat or life-preserver thus constructed is cheap, simple, and very efiicient. Occupying, as it does, very little space, and being very light, there is no objection to its use, and be ing very simple, there is no danger ofthe passenger failing to get it properly adjusted; and, even if it is thrown overboard without the air-vessels being turned up, it will answer as a iioat by which a number of persons may sustain themselves, and this, whether it is right or wrong side up. This boat being lstowed away in the berth will remain un'- changed and serviceable, while nearly all other preservers in use become unserviceable in a short time.

Having thus described my invention, what .I claim is A lifeboat, consisting-of the box or body A, with the air-chamber or iioat hinged thereto, the whole being constructed and arranged for use, substantially as herein described.

BENJAMIN W. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

PHILIP T. Donar.,

H. B. MUNN. 

